New look at La Peña cave (San Román de Candamo, Asturias, Spain)

AbstractThisarticle presentsthe first resultsofthe interdisciplinary studyof thePalaeolithicartofLa PenaCave(SanRomandeCandamo)recentlydeclaredaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite.Thesystematicexplorationofthe cave and the application of new technologies for documenting Palaeolithic graphs have allowed us tolocate new heretofore unknown sets and to extend the number of known decorated topographic units. Themaking of a new topographical survey allows us to locate the previously known catalogue (figurativerepresentations and signs) precisely as well as the new findings of paintings and engravings. In parallel tothis, the use of different geotechnologies has allowed us to obtain digital models of the original structure ofthe La Pena Cave of San Roman de Candamo (Spain), and also to obtain orthophotos that faithfully reflectthecave’sdimensionalandtexturalcharacteristicsforsubsequenttechnicalstudybyateamofprehistorians.#2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. Keywords: Prehistory and archaeology; Cave art; Upper Palaeolithic; Cantabrian Coast; Archaeological methodology;Laser scanner; Terrestrial photogrammetry; 3D modelling; Sensor integration